Prime Video movie of the day: Al Pacino takes on a city of corrupt cops in the dark, gritty and thrilling Serpico
Pacino is mesmerising in this real-life tale of a cop battling corruption in ’70s New York
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Serpicois a classic movie, a cop drama with Al Pacino as the titular detective battling corruption in the police department of 1970s New York. Based on a real person and directed by Sidney Lumet, it’s a grim and gripping thriller. The biographical crime drama is whatSlantmagazine describes as “an exemplar of a certain brand of character-based social realism that Hollywood excelled at in the 1970s, as well as an essential time capsule of New York City during the same period”.
Serpico is a true crime classic
Like similarly gritty movies of its era, there aren’t many LOLs inSerpico.It’s gritty and uncompromising in its depiction of a rotten police force and a city that at the time felt like it was in deep decline. This is the New York ofMean Streets, and the cops are the meanest of all.
“Serpicofeels like a deeply cynical and suspicious picture, but this is tempered by its faith in the unflagging decency of its central crusader,” saysFilm Frenzy, and whileNewsweekfelt that the movie itself was mediocre it was elevated by a superb performance by Pacino. “Al Pacino is destined to become the next big American film star,” it accurately predicted.Empirewas one of very many to praise the actor, noting that “Al Pacino delivers a powerful performance in this compelling biopic of a cop and a city’s police force”.
“Sidney Lumet’s direction adeptly combines gritty action and thought-provoking comment,” saidVariety, while the Chicago Reader said that “A virtuoso performance by Al Pacino and some expert location work by Sidney Lumet add up to a tour de force genre piece that transcends the supercop conventions to create a moving, engrossing portrait of Frank Serpico.” And sadly theNew York Times’review feels just as relevant decades later. It described it as “a remarkable record of one man’s rebellion against the sort of sleaziness and second-rateness that has affected so much American life, from the ingredients of its hamburgers to the ethics of its civil servants and politicians.”
You might also like
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.
4 spy shows on Prime Video with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes
Prime Video’s smart new X-Ray feature is finally a good reason to add AI to streaming
How to delete a character from Character AI
